Vehicle interiors typically include front passenger seats and rear passenger seats positioned behind the front seats. These passenger seats can either be individual bucket type seats or bench type seats. A number of other interior components are usually mounted directly or in close proximity to these seats. The components can include pivotal and stationary armrests, seat belts, headrests, cup holders, and storage console assemblies.
The storage console assemblies are typically positioned in the center of the bench type seats or between a pair of bucket type seats. Accordingly, these console assemblies are typically called center console assemblies. The consoles usually have at lease one storage compartment with a pivotal lid for opening and closing the compartment. The pivotal lid can also act as an armrest. The storage compartment is utilized for storing any number of items such as portable phones, compact discs, pens, note pads, or the like. The center console assemblies known in the art are either pivotally mounted to the bench type seats or fixedly secured to a floor of the vehicle interior between the bucket type seats. Most commonly, the center consoles are part of a modular unit which also includes a transmission shift lever, parking brake, mirror controls, and the like.